1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to snow removal equipment, and more particularly, a removable plow attachment for a snow blower or thrower.
2. Description of the Related Art
Motor driven snow removal equipment such as snow blowers or snow throwers are known in the art. Such snow removal equipment will usually take the form of a housing containing a rotating spiral blade, driven by a small gasoline engine, which forces the snow into a chute with sufficient force to cause it to be thrown a significant distance in a direction determined by the aiming of the chute. The most commonly used snow blower is of the type provided with a pair of drive wheels with the driving motor situated over the axle interconnecting these wheels. The housing and blade is situated forward of the wheels and with the blade connected to the drive motor via a belt. In use, the operator stands to the rear of the apparatus and, via suitable controls, adjusts the speed of the motor and the discharge direction of the chute while steering the blower with a pair of rearwardly extending handles.
Snow blowers are designed to facilitate the removal of comparatively deep and also dry snow. For snow of a wet consistency, slush, or a dusting, there is a tendency for the snow to stick to the sides of and thus clog the discharge chute of a snow blower thus rendering the apparatus useless. Furthermore, in relatively deep wet snow or slush, there is a tendency for the rotating blade to jam or get stuck resulting in problems for the driving motor, such as the motor burnout, breaking drive belts. etc. Additionally, in view of the force with which the snow is expelled from the discharge end of the chute, use of a snow blower for wet snow, slush or a dusting can result in damage to valuable shrubbery as well as glass such as automobile and building windows.
Thus, it is quite common for the owner of a snow blower to nevertheless resort to at least partial shoveling of the area containing wet snow, slush, or a dusting. It would be advantageous if motor driven snow removal equipment, as described above, can be employed to shovel or plow such wet snow, slush, or a dusting. Therefore, a need exists for an attachment to 95% of conventional motor driven snow removal equipment to enable the motor driven snow removal equipment to plow wet snow, slush, or a dusting. A further need exists for such attachment to be easily attached and/or removed from snow removal equipment, i.e., easy on/easy off.